Mountain lions, bobcats, deer and more are rescued and cared for at the OC Zoo in Irvine Regional Park; many are trained for use in education programs.

Many avid hikers log hundreds of miles on trails throughout the Irvine Ranch Natural Landmarks and never see a mountain lion or even a bobcat. Yet with a trip to Irvine Regional Park, anyone can see these cats, along with many other species of locally-native wildlife. The OC Zoo is operated by OC Parks, and also provides educational information and programs about these often elusive creatures.

The OC Zoo offers a unique opportunity to see and learn about animals you may never come across on the trail. It also offers care and rescue to animals that are abandoned, illegally kept as pets, or are otherwise not suitable to be released into the wild. Some of the animals are trained to be education animals, and zoo staff take these special animals out into the public for information sessions throughout the day.

Two orphaned siblings will join other Southwest-native animals on exhibit.

This weekend, two mountain lion cubs will make their debut at the OC Zoo in Irvine Regional Park. Since the cubs’ arrival in December, zoo staff has been working with the cubs to prepare them for life at the zoo, including teaching them enrichment exercises and training them to make medical exams easier.

The 9-month-old sibling cubs were orphaned and rescued late last year, and could not have survived in the wild on their own. They join other rescued animals at the zoo that are native to Orange County, but are not suitable to be released into the wild.